New Jersey tot wipes out hours of monks’ work

Buddhist monks work on fixing a sand mandala, which was disturbed by a small child at Jersey City City Hall, Friday, April 25, 2014, in Jersey City, N.J. The monks have been building the sand mandala since Monday. It's a traditional, multicolored display that is built then destroyed in a ceremony meant to symbolize the fleeting nature of life. The young child climbed over a rope barrier and got onto the four-foot-square display. The sides and middle were smudged as a result. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

JERSEY CITY (AP) — A New Jersey tot has made his inadvertent mark on an intricate sand display created by Buddhist monks.

The monks have been building a sand mandala in Jersey City’s municipal building since Monday. It’s a flat, multicolored display that is created and then destroyed in a ceremony meant to symbolize the fleeting nature of life.

It was reported the young boy climbed over a rope barrier Friday and got onto the 4-foot-square display. The sides and middle were smudged as a result.

Some of the monks were working to restore the sand Friday before its ritual destruction.